Eastern Europe's
watchdog in the U.S.

A constantly relevant focus of CEEC is Russia's increased use of "soft power" against
Lithuania and the other 17 countries that constitute Central and Eastern Europe.

Member of our VilNews Honorary Council and regular contributor as a columnist, Dr. Stan Backaitis, is also a member of the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC), Eastern Europe's watchdog in the United States. A constantly relevant focus of this organization is Russia's increased use of "soft power" against Lithuania and the other 17 countries that constitute CEE. Dr. Backaitis today has made ​​us aware of a new U.S. law in the country's relations with Russia. The new law grants Russia and Moldova permanent normal trade relations, but it is coupled with the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, which honors a dead Russian. The law blacklists Russians connected to the death of Magnitsky in police custody and to other gross human rights violations, prohibiting entrance to the United States and use of its banking system.

The Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) was established in 1994 and is comprised of 18 national membership organizations that represent more than 22 million Americans who trace their heritage to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). CEEC represents Americans of Armenian, Belarusan, Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, Georgian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, and Ukrainian descent.

The CEEC has been regularly consulted by U.S. authorities over the years on a variety of issues, such as NATO enlargement, U.S. assistance to Central and Eastern Europe, Bosnia, Kosovo, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, missile defense, and other key issues of national concern. Our member organizations regularly meet individually and as a Coalition, with high-level officials at the White House, State Department, and members of Congress.

The latest, growing tense situation between Russia and its neighbors has caused increased alarm for CEEC as Moscow’s increasingly belligerent rhetoric, internal violations of human rights, economic coercion, and increasing use of soft power to further its aims, have gone largely unheeded in American foreign policy.

CEEC has the latest years also focused much on energy issues, that have emerged as one of Europe’s most serious long-term security challenges, with the Kremlin using its energy resources for political and economic pressure in the CEE region.